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Fishing was a Breeze on Saturday!

Here is a taste of the conditions I was out in on Saturday. Breezy :) They say smallmouth love wind and that certainly seemed to be the case on Saturday. The wind started blowing even before sunrise and just built and built during the day. The closest weather station as reporting 29mph in the afternoon and I am sure that it is a bit higher than that in the middle of the wide open river. The day did not start out as I had planned though. I started with a topwater and could not get a...

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Mediocre Day on the River

I thought I was being so clever taking off Friday to fish the Columbia. Turns out there are a lot of clever people in the PNW :) There were 3 or 4 other kayakers and a bunch of bass boats fishing in the MY area, the nerve of some people :) In addition, the nets were out which ends up blocking quite a few spots (or making them awkward to fish properly). Anyway the day started out OK. It was glassy calm for a bit and I picked up a nice little chunk pretty quickly on topwater. Unfortunately...

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Perfect Day of Summer Smallmouth Fishing!

Well, maybe perfect is an exaggeration but it was pretty darn close to perfect! I mean come on, look at this: I guess to be honest the day briefly started out pretty far from perfect but in the end that just made the whole day even sweeter. The night before when I was loading up my truck I noticed that I had frayed almost all the way through. When I got to the ramp and got my kayak in the water the line rudder up/down line snapped and my rudder was not fully deployed. I almost left but I...

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Surprisingly tough day on the Columbia

I hit the Columbia on Saturday the 16th. I was totally stoked because I just knew I was going to have a monster day. When I got to the ramp I was a little dismayed by the amount of wind. Usually the day at least starts off calm but the wind was whipping it was spitting rain. I was not too unhappy though because I knew that rain would have the smallmouth chomping big time. I started the day off tossing a whopper plopper and within a few casts missed what looked to be a good fish. That really...

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Fishing with my daughter on July 27, Newport Oregon

We caught these two off the very tip of the north jetty at Newport on an EXTREMELY flat (<3 foot swell) ocean. I know they get bigger, but the black is the biggest one I've ever seen @ 5 lbs 11 oz, and my daughter caught it. She almost never gets a chance to go fishing (lives in Palm Desert, Ca), so this was a real treat for both of us. While I caught the Ling Cod and another undersized one, we both caught several other nice sized blacks as well. 14 foot Gregor, 15 hp Suzuki, burned...

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Paulina Kokanee and Crayfish

We just returned from a ten day trip to Paulina Lake. We stayed a the east end of the lake, Little Crater Camp Ground. Great view of the lake and nice spot to anchor the boat. The fishing was hot and cold just like the weather. One fine morning we found ourselves scraping ice off the seats and windshield of the boat. By noon we were ready for a swim to cool off. At 7000 feet elevation things change quickly. To catch kokanee we needed to be on the water by 5:30 am. The bite was crazy...

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If you can't stand the heat stay off the river!

I hit the Columbia for the first time in 7 weeks on Sunday (August 10th). The recorded high in Stevenson was 102.8F but at least there was a nice brisk east wind to make it not horrible. The wind was of course a blessing and a curse. It made it more comfortable to be out and make it much harder to fish out of the kayak. Well, enough whining. The good news is that I was able to scratch out a decent day! I ended up with 22 smallmouth with the biggest being a 3lb 5oz, 18.5" chunky girl. My...

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Summer Steelhead on the Lewis river

I didn't know the Lewis river in Washington had a summer Steelhead season! From June through August, but it seems so. A couple of years ago I set up my Step grandson for Salmon and Steelhead fishing, Boots, rods and gear. Got this picture from him yesterday! Poor boy, forever hooked. What have I done?

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Upper Willamette Summer Smallmouth

I have not been fishing in a month due to not feeling my best but last Sunday I finally felt good enough to head out. The wind forecast in the gorge was not looking too favorable and sine my drive broke on my last trip I as not eager to test the repair on the mighty Columbia in high wind conditions. So I fished the Willamette for the first time this year. The Willamette used to be my mainstay. It is 1/4 to 1/2 the travel time of going to the gorge (depending on where I launch) and there are...

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Great Time at Walton Lake

Just got back from a week of leisurely fly fishing at Walton lake. I must admit that I do miss the ocean and the recent post about salmon fishing out of Newport drove that feeling home. However I truly did enjoy cruising around on my Bucks Bag pontoon boat and using the fly gear. The weather was awesome and the wind was not bad. I was always on the water early or at least by 11am. Being retired those early starts are anything before noon, and after plenty of good morning coffee. I had...

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2025 Salmon Show OFF

Last Friday was a good day on the big pond out of Winchester Bay.

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Outstanding day out of Newport

Got the nod to make the run out of Newport Tuesday. Ocean was a little confused as we left the jaws, but got better as the day progressed. Ran south a ways to my buddy's ling spot and had 6 nice ones by 8:30.Made the move to try for Salmon and got 2 Hatchery Coho in about an hour and then the bite stopped Moved north a few miles and found some birds and put them in.about 25 minutes we git a triple, all hatchery and finished up in less than an hour. OUTSTANDING day and were back at the slip...

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Yesterday was a shocker - 60 fish in all the wrong places!

The torrential rain in May and June have raised the lake level to a point where unseasonal fish locations and especially schools made for quite a day! By this time, the weeds in shallow water are denser with fewer open areas to retrieve any distance. Granted, I could pitch jigs all day in weed pockets and get a few, but I'd rather cast-&-reel, covering more water in open water locations. I don't have a clue why some fish in schools would be holding near shore in 2', but each school held...

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Hot fishing on a hot day!

I hit the Columbia out of Stevenson on Saturday the 7th for the first time in 3 weeks. High temp was forecast to be 90 but Sunday was supposed to be 5 degrees hotter so I picked the lesser of the two evils. I got to the river at first light and there was a bit of a breeze. I started throwing to a mini-point that usually produces at least a fish or two in the summer but I got nothing but some weeds. Then I went over to a bigger point that ALWAYS has fish on this time of the year but again all...

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The tale of two lakes, Timothy and Merwin

Since my wife and I retired from the adventures of ocean fishing, we have been chasing Kokanee on placid tree rimed lakes. Last Friday we ventured up to Timothy Lake, and for the first time on that piece of water we targeted Kokane. It will be the last time we go after Kokanee up there. Thy were the size of the herring we used for bait when fishing out of Astoria and Newport. Literally they were 5 to 7 inches. I brought a few home to see what the deal was. When I cleaned them, I found...

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First strike lures... bad blade finish

First let me say i really like everything else I have ever ordered from FSL. But... several months ago I put in a semi large order of some spinner bodies and different blades. One of the packs of blades I ordered was the white matte silver. What i got was not what I expected. I've ordered matte silver from other places that is literally silver that just isn't polished to a high shine, but these blades just look kinda painted white. I figured eh..ill keep em anyways. It's a weird looking...

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The Bite was Off the Hook at Hagg Lake

...unfortunately so were most of the trout :( I guess I should not complain since I did catch 24 trout but I would guess I missed at least 2 or 3 for every one that I caught. Plus add in the number I lost right at the kayak and it could have been a monster day but overall it was still a good day. There are trout everywhere! You could see them rising and splashing on the surface all over the no-wake zone all day long. There were sections where they were denser but it seemed like you would...

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Rate my drift rig presentation

Hello, first time posting on here but I have been lurking in the shadows for a while. This will be my first year targeting salmon/steelhead. I'll be bank fishing the mckenzie, willamette and row river. I ordered a rod and reel from fishUSA (9' okuma celilo with shimano SLX casting reel) while I'm waiting for it to arrive I started tyeing leaders to practice. I have a couple questions and I just want to know if my rig presentation looks good for drift/float fishing steelhead. I'll be using...

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24 hours and counting…

Where you all headed for the season opener tomorrow that you’ve been waiting since last October to fish?! Last year kicked off great! a little skinny and hungry…

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Salt Water Fishing in Oregon Beautiful Day out of Gold Beach

My fishing friend had vehicle trouble, so we launched about an hour after the anticipated time (10:30). Weatherperson was spot on as the forecast was for the wind to die in the afternoon, which it did. We started fishing a bit after high tide with a 10-12 mph breeze. As the day progressed, it got nicer and flatter. We pulled the pin at 3:30 and ran in on a very flat ocean. The bite was a little tough, as the water was O F F color and in some spots the vis was about 18 inches. We were...

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Pounding Two Pounders!

I hit the Columbia on Sunday the 11th. The wind forecast was supposed to be dicey so the plan was to spend most of the day in the slough downstream from the ramp a little ways. The wind lived up to its forecast and I was happy to fish (hide) from the wind pretty effectively for most of the day. It was really pleasant not fishing in a maelstrom all day long - although I did venture and fish in the main river for an hour at the end of the day because I am a glutton for punishment :) Overall...

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2025 Steelhead Show OFF

One more today in the rain. Another nice winter fish. That's 3 this year that are bigger than any other winter fish I've caught in 10years or so. Usually I get the typical 26"-29" 5-8lb fish. This one was almost 32". Big fat hen with really big egg skeins. Not as dramatic as a fight as the one yesterday but she did get into some grass down and across the river from me. Thought she had me snagged up. But I was able to go down and pull on her from a different direction and got her out of it...

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Starting off 2025 Right!

I had never fished for smallmouth in January before Saturday, but since I had caught my first December smallmouth 3 weeks earlier I figured I should give it a try. When I got to the Columbia I was a little dismayed. The forecast called for winds to be light and variable but it was blowing pretty good out of the East. I looked at the whitecaps and was doubting the wisdom of heading out. To further dampen my spirits the water near shore was pretty muddy. It had been quite clear a few weeks...

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Just some salmon I caught

I got the little one by accident in a creek on the fly, and the big girl on a charter the next day. Both coho.

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2024 Salmon Show OFF

Another great day South. I’m done but there’s lots more good fish to come down there. It’s going to be crazy this weekend.

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They are still biting!

I hit the Columbia on Saturday the 16th with some trepidation. The wind forecast was once again calling for light winds but after getting brutalized last week I was a little gun shy to say the least. I woke up on Saturday after not sleeping great and at first I rolled over and thought about just sleeping in and bagging it. However, after 15 minutes of intense debate with myself I decided I would probably be happiest if I went so I dragged myself out of bed and headed East to Stevenson. When...

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Oregon Fall Bass Fishing

I hit the Columbia on Saturday the 26th and what a day! There was sun, rain, clouds, rainbows, low-flying planes and plenty of hungry bass! Just a great day to be living in the PNW!! The bite was great, 24 smallmouth and 3 pikiemninnows, but getting to fish in such beautiful conditions is just beyond expression. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words so here you go:

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Hagg Lake is like a box of chocolates...

... you never know what you are going to get! I hit Hagg on Saturday the 19th for a day of trolling for trout. I had not been to Hagg in a long time and was looking forward to battling some feisty trout. I was surprised how many folks were already there when I got there around first light. I remember usually arriving to an empty parking lot. I was hoping that meant the fishing was going to be on fire. The day started out according to plan. I quickly caught a 14" trout (before I turned on my vid

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Vernonia Lake Bass Fishing

Finally caught one of the fabled Vernonia lake 5+ lbers!!

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Upper Willamette system catfish

First post here on the forum, I see a lot of talk about channel catfish and how present they are in the upper willamette, recently found they are very present at my local fishing hole in good numbers, nothing giant but next summer I hope to tap into some bigger ones, they simply do not bite before sunset, and even if they do the squafish get to the bait before the catfish. If anyone has any bait suggestions for bigger catfish that would be much appreciated. All I’ve caught so far have been on...

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